SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball could not overcome a slow start and late foul trouble as it fell 90-72 Saturday afternoon to Fresno Pacific at the Conlan Center.

Senior forward Natalie Diaz led the way with 28 points and two blocks, but she fouled out two minutes into the fourth quarter and the Penguins (19-4, 16-3 PacWest) were unable to replace her production. Senior guard Alanna Scott added 16 points, while sophomore guard Sydney Larocca came off the bench for 12 points.

Jessica Malazarte led the Sunbirds (17-8, 13-6 PacWest) with 24 points and six rebounds, while Ashley Cross added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. FPU dominated the glass with 20 offensive rebounds, while hitting nine 3-pointers.

Fresno Pacific came out strong to take an 8-2 lead with 7:05 left in the first behind six quick points from Ashley Cross. Diaz knocked down a jumper and collected a block to send the Penguins the other way and Larocca hit Scott underneath the basket for a layup to cut the deficit to two less than a minute later. Cross knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game to stop the momentum and FPU pushed the lead to double-digits by outscoring Dominican 16-8 over the final six minutes of the quarter.

The teams traded buckets for most of the second quarter with the Sunbirds not allowing their lead to slip below four until the final minute of play. Anjelica Collins hit a 3-pointer to start the run and Diaz powered her way inside for three more points to cut the FPU lead to 42-38 with 56 seconds left. After the teams traded a pair of free throws, Diaz found Scott open behind the arc and she buried it to cut the deficit to one with 11 seconds remaining. FPU dug deep for an answer as Barbara Keomany found herself open from the left elbow to hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Sunbirds into the half with momentum.

Dominican picked up three fouls in the first minute of the third quarter handing Marisa Mondave and Diaz their third fouls. Both would pick up their fourth fouls in the period, but Dominican kept within striking distance as neither team was able to string together a run for the first seven minutes. Ayla Faber knocked a jumper down off the bench and Malazarte connected on a 3-pointer as a 7-0 run pushed FPU's lead to 66-54 with 2:01 left in the quarter. 

Dominican opened the fourth trailing 67-58, but Diaz picked up her fifth foul with 8:17 left in the game to shift the momentum squarely to the Sunbirds. Larocca went on a personal 4-0 run to cut the deficit to six briefly, but the Sunbirds pulled away leading by as many as 20.

Dominican will return to the court Saturday against Holy Names University at 5:30 p.m. PST at the Conlan Center for Senior Day. Live stats and video will be available online.